Medical Assistants in North Dakota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,125
after federal, FICA and North Dakota tax
Tax takes
$6,855
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,173
North Dakota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in North Dakota — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$45,980
Kept after tax
$39,125
Worth in national money
$44,173
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. North Dakota is 22 of 51 states for medical assistants, with a middle wage of $45,980. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within North Dakota this is lower-paid work. Of 460 occupations the state publishes figures for, medical assistants ranks 362. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where North Dakota does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,980 you keep $39,125, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,173 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $46,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- North Dakota ranks 22 of 51 for medical assistants at $45,980. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation North Dakota reports, medical assistants ranks 362 of 460, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and North Dakota income tax, retained pay for medical assistants on $45,980 is $39,125. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,173 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $46,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Medical Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,650 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,230 |
| This salary | $45,980 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in North Dakota | $39,125 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,125 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,911 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $45,980 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,730 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in North Dakota earn less than $45,980. The published range is $37,650 up to $58,230, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $39,125 take-home in North Dakota comes from $45,980. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 362 of 460.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $44,173 uses one figure for the whole of North Dakota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 460 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 362.
- Reported values are medians; for medical assistants in North Dakota the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,650 to $58,230. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $39,125, from $45,980, assumes a single North Dakota filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 362 of 460 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,173, worked from $45,980, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular North Dakota address, on work sitting at 362 of 460 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,650 at the tenth percentile, $58,230 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $44,173.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; North Dakota then takes its own share, leaving $39,125.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,650 to $58,230) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to North Dakota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
North Dakota's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $44,173 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $39,125 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and North Dakota income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.